Staff Reporter
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday stressed the need for building up a knowledge-based advanced and open thinking society for upholding the dignity of the mother language.
She urged the people to come up with suggestions and cooperation for development and preservation of language and culture of the nation alongside enriching those through drawing on whatever good in the outer world.
Hasina made this remark while delivering her speech at the inaugural ceremony of month long Ekushey Boi Mela at the Bangla Academy Premises. She also suggested learning at least one foreign language apart from Bengla to be eligible to take the challenges of the modern world.
Hasina reiterated her party’s election pledge to take proper steps to preserve the cultural heritage, language, literature, music, arts and all creative works.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called for establishing International Mother Language Institute for preserving Bengali as well as all minority nationalities’ languages.
She called upon the Bangla Academy authorities to do more research work to project the real history of the 1952 language movement and 1971 liberation war to the young generation.
“There are so many heroics in the history of emergence of Bangladesh
as an independent state. But, unfortunately, our national history was distorted many times. I ask Bangla Academy authorities to do in a total neutral manner more research in our history and culture. Our new generations need to be offered scope to know their real self-identity. The world must be allowed to know of our glorious history and identity” the PM said.
She also added that after Rabindranath Tagore, none had been awarded with the Nobel Prize in Bengali literature. But there were so many creative works in Bengali literature, which can attain international honour.
Hasina also announced to reintroduce the sign language at state level to facilitate the hearing disabled people and betterment of the country in the long run.
“At first the sign language will begin in the BTV news and certain other programmes. Gradually this mode of communication will be adopted by the other media outlets,” she said.
She also hoped that the private TV channels would welcome the move and come forward in its support.
Pointing the importance of book in every sphere of life Prime minister Sheikh Hasina said books had helped her during the ‘lonely’ days of her detention between 2007 and 2008.
She said, “Books were my only companions in my lonely life in prison. My time in jail was a great opportunity for me to read, and I realised once again the importance of books.”
While the Indian writer Mahasweta Devi arrived at the venue just for visit, the Sheikh Hasina asked for her to be brought to the stage.
Devi, sitting beside the prime minister, expressed her gratitude for showing such respect.
Prof. Harun-or-Rashid, chairman of the Bangla Academy presided over the function. Syed Mohammad Shahed, Director General of the Bangla Academy, national professor Kabir Chowdhury and state minister for cultural affairs Abul Kalam Azad also spoke at the inaugural ceremony.
One-minute silence was observed at the outset in honor of the 1952 Language Movement martyrs. The PM later declared the Ekushey festival open and went round different bookstalls.
The number of participating organisations in the book fair has risen this year to 297 from last year’s 236.
The book fair remains open to the public everyday from 3pm till 9pm and on weekends from 11am till 9pm through the month of February.
Courtesy: nation.ittefaq.com
